If, like Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk have had to endure a shaky start to their domestic title defence, at least they can look to their bench for some reassurance and stability. While David Moyes battles manfully to move on from Sir Alex Ferguson’s epic era, the Ukrainian champions have their own version of the great Scot up their sleeve in Mircea Lucescu.

The principal similarities between Lucescu and Sir Alex are more obvious ones; they are both serial winners and dynasty builders. Lucescu has won seven out of nine Ukrainian Premier League titles contested to date since his arrival, among 18 major trophies he has won at Shakhtar overall. He has 29 trophies over the length of his managerial career.

Another curio that the Romanian shares with Ferguson is that his son has followed him into management. Razvan has reprised dad’s footsteps by taking the reins at Rapid Bucharest, before a two-year spell managing Romania. Even if Lucescu senior’s initially nomadic career saw success in Romania, Italy and Turkey, he is settled at “the club that I love”, where he will celebrate a decade next year.

Despite a few health scrapes - including a heart attack at a summer 2009 pre-season training camp in Switzerland and sustaining several broken ribs and lung damage after a serious car accident on a trip back to his native Bucharest in early 2012 – Lucescu is as hungry as ever at 68. He signed a new contract at the Donbass Arena earlier this year, taking him through to 2015.

His spritely personality is reflected in the football Shakhtar play. Last season’s vintage were perhaps the apex – even allowing for the club’s 2009 UEFA Cup win – when they went toe-to-toe with Juventus and holders Chelsea in a memorable Champions League group before falling to eventual finalists Dortmund in the last 16.

(Image: PA)

Shakhtar had already reached the quarter-finals in 2011, but last season was – at least stylistically – the pinnacle of the attractive possession game implemented by Lucescu, based around his love of the Brazilian game. As a 24-year-old centre-forward he captained Romania at the 1970 World Cup – Angelo Niculescu’s team were in the same group as Brazil, and England - and it left a lasting impression. Only one Brazilian, Brandao, was at Shakhtar when Lucescu arrived, but he swiftly recruited another five, including former Manchester City midfielder Elano. 21 Brazilians have worn Shakhtar’s orange since Lucescu arrived, with 14 currently on the books.

Five of those arrived this summer, which is why Lucescu is currently undertaking another of Sir Alex's favourite tasks: rebuilding a team. Shakhtar are a work in progress, with Lucescu admitting in typically frank style after Saturday’s derby draw at Metalurg that “it is clear the newcomers are talented players but…they aren’t of much help so far. When two or three of them are in the starting line-up, our game goes a bit wrong.”

Lucescu’s press conferences are always entertaining and honest. He often goes off on a tangent, but is a rare coach to offer real insight into his thinking. He admitted that he was late to Saturday’s post-game conference after a lengthy “debate” with his players, and that he is plotting “carefully” for the United game.

Shakhtar had five different coaches in the three years before Lucescu took charge, including Bernd Schuster and Nevio Scala. He brought calm, stability and a sense of planning into a highly pressurised environment – which will be key in a full and noisy Donbass on Wednesday.